Work Text:
College has never been so stressful. Gilgamesh, a young architecture student groaned, walking his way to the library. It has almost been a week straight he has been staying up, getting only 5 hours of sleep at best, and the rest of the night is spent all on plates and assignments.
Pushing the library door open, He was greeted by the librarian to which he responded with a slight nod as he continued his way to the back. He quickly grabbed a few books beforehand, settling in the most secluded area of the library possible. The silent ambience is quite refreshing from the noise outside. Most of the people were merely minding their own business, with faint sounds of keyboards typing and book pages turning in the background.
Gilgamesh places his bag onto the floor next to his chair, placing the books he grabbed earlier onto the table, taking out his laptop, notebook, pens, papers, and a few of his own textbooks. Rubbing his eyes to get rid of some of the tiredness, he quickly put on his anti-radiation glasses, preparing to face his laptop screen for hours on end.
Fortunately, their school library does allow drinks, as long as you’re careful not to spill on any of the books.
Opening his first can of coffee, Gilgamesh took a quick sip of it before resuming on working on the assignments, praying he’d finish all of it, if not, most of it today.
After 30 minutes straight of typing, paraphrasing, and reading, Gilgamesh took off his glasses to blink off from the far distance away from his laptop screen. He rested his head on the top of his hand, massaging it from the headache. Just as when He was about to get back to work, he noticed the gap in between the books in the bookshelf in front. He stopped working for a moment, as something…or someone rather, caught his eye behind that shelf.
Just in front of his working space revealed a green-haired figure, wearing a white turtleneck with a black blazer over it. Resting their cheek on the palm of their hand, they were surrounded by a mountain of books, clearly reading one that could possibly rival an entire novel in thickness.
Gilgamesh catches himself staring at the mysterious beauty right in front of him. Only to be grounded by the muddled mess that’s in front of him. Sighing exasperatedly, he went back to what he was doing, only stealing some glances at that gap ahead of him.
Time check: 6:00 pm
An hour passed by, and Gilgamesh was halfway to the things his professors required them to do. Opening another can of coffee, he resumes working, noticing the other behind the shelf is still there. The library has started to empty itself out with more and more people leaving. He was tired, he wanted nothing more than to get home and get some rest. But even that’s not possible with the amount of workload he has.
Groaning softly, he tried to get back getting the job done, but his eyes started to feel like weights pulling him down. His vision started going hazy, barely making the words out of his laptop screen. He tried opening his eyes back up, only for it to be weighed down by his eyelids. Not long after did his vision take a turn to the darkness, with his head landing with a soft ‘thud’ on top of the books.
.
.
.
.
.
“Excuse me…” Gilgamesh heard a sweet voice call out to him with light taps on his shoulder. He turned towards that direction, squinting his eyes from the sudden brightness. His vision started to clear out, finally revealing the mysterious person.
Gilgamesh almost jumped from his seat, seeing the person beside him. It was that same person he saw just right in front of him earlier.
“I saw you passed out over the hoards of supplies that you have. The library is starting to close now, so I thought I’d wake you up.” They softly smiled.
Gilgamesh looked to the mess just right ahead of him, his laptop screen still on, an open book that his head was just resting on, and loads of papers.
“How long was I out?” He finally asked, as the stranger beside him began to think.
“I noticed you already for quite a while now, but I paid no mind to it since I was busy with my own work. But maybe about an hour or so?” They responded, as Gilgamesh’s eyes almost turned into saucers.
“AN HOUR!?” He shouted only to be shushed by the green-haired fella as he quickly covered his mouth with both of his hands.
“Sorry.” He cleared his throat as he quickly checked the time in his Rolex watch, making him sigh deeply as the clock said ‘7:01 pm’.
“So Mister… are you going to pack up now, or do you intend to stay the night here?” The green-haired fella sassed, leaving him at a loss for words.
“Right, right.” He muttered, as he immediately started to compile his papers, placing it neatly, followed by his laptop, and only for the rest of the things to be shoved into the bag.
Before leaving, the pair quickly made a stop at the librarian’s counter leaving their library cards and signing the books they wished to borrow. The both of them bid the librarian goodbye as they finally walked out of the library.
“I’ll have to say, I owe you on this one.” Gilgamesh said to his new acquaintance.
“Don’t mind it.” They replied.
“Gilgamesh from the architecture department.” He introduced himself, initiating a hand shake.
“Enkidu, from law.” Enkidu stated, accepting Gilgamesh’s handshake.
“I never really knew anyone from law, well besides you now.” He chuckled.
“Same here.” They responded. “I also never knew anyone from architecture.”
Gilgamesh curiously looked at the book they were clutching.
“Confucius: The Analects” he read the title.
“Isn’t that the book that you borrowed from the library earlier?” He asked, as Enkidu nodded.
“Are you sure you’re really studying law?” He teased as Enkidu sarcastically rolled their eyes.
“Just because I study law, I can’t read anything else now?” They teasingly responded back.
“Besides, all the article this, section that gets boring at times.” They giggled as Gilgamesh laughed loudly.
“I get your point.” He says as they continue to walk outside the campus.
“How about I treat you tonight?” Gilgamesh invited with a smile, making the both of them stop.
“If this is about earlier, then there's no need-.”
“I insist.” Gilgamesh cut off.
“If you say so” Enkidu airily laughed as the both of them continued walking.
The pair suddenly stopped at the campus’s parking space, Gilgamesh fiddling with his keys to unlock the car. Enkidu stood there, placing the book they were holding inside their bag as the other hastily placed his things onto the backseat. Straightening out his shirt, he walked in front of Enkidu, opening the door, gesturing for them to get in.
They serenely smiled, with a light sigh, they settled themselves comfortably inside the car. Gilgamesh soon joined, starting the engine as the two made their way to a luxury coffee shop. Holding the door for Enkidu as they entered the place, Enkidu could not contain their sheer astonishment, hovering their eyes in almost every corner of the cafe.
“So, do you want to eat here?” He asked, making Enkidu face him.
“It’s fine, I’m in a bit of a hurry to go home.” They respectfully declined.
“Well, just pick whatever you like.” He said, as Enkidu’s expression shifted to that of disbelief.
“Anything?” Enkidu grinned with Gilgamesh nodding his head.
“But most of the items seem quite expensive…” They faltered, looking at the menu board.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be getting one for myself.” Gilgamesh assured them with a smile.
Looking at the menu board once more, Enkidu gently shook their head.
“How about you choose one for me then.” They chirped.
“Well, how about you choose your own dessert?” Gilgamesh sighed as Enkidu shyly looked down.
“Well then I’ll take the macarons.” They responded, Gilgamesh finally taking his order.
“I’ll have two special lattes and a box of macarons.” He confidently said to the cashier.
“A box of macarons!?” Enkidu aggravatedly whispered, but the blonde just ignored them and went with the order.
“Two special lattes and a box of macarons coming right up!” The cashier said gleefully, leaving Gilgamesh smirking at Enkidu.
The pair got their order, and finally proceeded to walk out of the cafe sipping their respective lattes, and Enkidu carrying a plastic bag with a box of macarons.
“You didn’t have to get me a box, you know.” They exclaimed, taking another sip of the latte.
“I know you wouldn’t try to get a box, so I did it for you.” Gilgamesh chuckled, earning a side eye from Enkidu.
“Well, Thank you for the treat.” Enkidu expressed, stopping in their tracks to face the guy.
“It’s no big deal. I would’ve treated you to dinner if we actually had time to spare.” He boasted, getting a sigh of exasperation from the other.
“I have to get home now. I still need to study for my upcoming quiz tomorrow.” Enkidu excused, only for Gilgamesh to retract him.
“I could take you home, if you like.” Gilgamesh offered.
“No need, I can handle myself from here.” Enkidu politely declined before taking another sip of the latte.
“Well then, I’ll see you at campus Gil!” Enkidu cheered, waving goodbye before they turned around to leave.
“I’ll see you then.” Gilgamesh mouthed. His cheeks started warming up against the cold breeze, flushing in a faint shade of pink, with his lips slowly curling up to a smile.
He walked back to his car, feeling nothing but bliss and astonishment from the person who woke him up in the library, forgetting about the work he has to do when he gets home for a moment. Besides, school work is always there and uninteresting. But when a heart beats for someone, that always has an interesting story to tell.