Work Text:
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
A dim lamp illuminated the apartment living room. It was cramped, but liveable. The brown leather couch and loveseat that Ludwig’s parents had gifted him pressed against the walls while a wooden coffee table sat between them. The table had been ornately painted with beautiful lily flowers by Kiku. The lamp that glowed softly in the corner belonged to Feliciano’s grandpa, and was something he took after his passing. The lamp had a stained glass shade that made the room light up with various, charming colors. All these elements brought by each of the roommates gave this small apartment space a life that only the three of them could create.
Ludwig sat on the leather couch, his laptop and stacks of assignments on the coffee table. He held a black ballpoint pen between his fingers as he clicked it over and over again, rhythmically. Ludwig refused to do his assignments in anything but a pen—it was a habit an old professor inflicted upon him; he tried to switch back to pencils but stated “it felt weird”. While sitting there, he stared blankly at his screen, rereading the scenario over and over again and staring at the model presented to him.
“Fuck this….” Ludwig mumbled as he sat up straight and ran his free hand through his hair, still clicking the pen over and over in his other hand. He let out a loud huff and moved his cursor to check the clock on his laptop, which read…
…1:43 AM…
“Scheiße…” Ludwig pulled his hand from his hair and began to bite down on his nails. These papers weren't due for a while, however he felt the need to do them right now. Something itched him from inside to finish this tonight; however, he had other classes tomorrow. He could just get coffee in the morning, Kiku was always willing to go with him. He hummed in thought before he heard a creak from the hall and perked his head up.
Ludwig noticed as Kiku peeked her head out from the corner of the hall and made eye contact with him. Ludwig drowsily smiled and waved at her, and she waved back. Her hands were covered in paint, which was half expected. Looking at her hands he chuckled a bit under his breath and then pointed towards the kitchen.
Ludwig loved and supported Kiku through her artistic ambitions, but sometimes it drove him insane. Whenever she painted he would find paint stains all over the apartment for days. It drove him crazy—right when he’d thought he finally cleaned it all, he’d always find more, and then Kiku painted again just to repeat the cycle. At this point, he now just makes Kiku wash her hands in the kitchen sink before she touches anything.
Kiku giggled at the silent implication and walked over to the kitchen. The kitchen and the living room were technically in the same room, it’s just that they were “separated” by the flooring. It was tile on the kitchen side and wooden on the living room side. Kiku turned on the water in the small metal sink and thoroughly washed her hands, before drying them on the cute Hello Kitty branded washcloth Feliciano had bought for the apartment.
She walked over to the fridge and looked inside, it was pitiful. There were a few drinks, some lunch meats, cheese sticks, random takeout boxes, and old pizza. She grimaced at the poor eating habits of her roommates before taking a cheese stick and beginning to pull it apart.
“Why are you still up, Ludwig?” Kiku asked, before leaning back on the kitchen counter and eating the string of cheese she had torn off.
“Working.” Ludwig replied.
“Ludwig, it’s nearly two in the morning… didn’t you finish tomorrow’s assignment earlier?”
“I want to stay ahead, it’s good to do those kinds of things.”
“Not if you’re staying up this late.”
Ludwig ignored Kiku and pretended to know what he was doing on his assignment. Kiku sighed and walked over to the loveseat before sitting herself down on it and continuing to peel apart the cheese.
“So then why are you up?” Ludwig asked.
“I have a painting due today, I procrastinated on it for too long.” Kiku answered.
“So what I’m hearing is you’re a hypocrite.” Ludwig said, chortling as he looked up at Kiku to see her reaction.
Kiku sat up straight with a grin on her face, “Hey, that’s totally different! I need to stay up late, you don’t.”
Ludwig smiled with a huff before looking back down at the assignment. “If I’m being honest I have no clue what I’m doing.”
“Then ask your professor about it tomorrow.”
Ludwig shivered at the thought of Dr. Oxenstierna. He intimidated Ludwig terribly—which wasn’t an easy thing to do. “No, thank you.”
“Then just wait for him to give the lecture!”
Ludwig huffed and shut his laptop. “I might have to.” He groaned, setting his pen down—nice and straight next to his laptop— before stretching his arms and slumping backwards, now sitting lazily.
Kiku chuckled at him and took the messy bun out of her hair. It was being held together by a claw clip which she easily combed out before setting it on the table. “It’s ok, I was going to take a break from my painting anyways.”
“So, what is the painting of?”
“Oh, it was a pretty open-ended assignment, we just had to do it in oil paint. Lucky for me, I’m pretty comfortable with oil paint.” Kiku responded, brushing through her hair with her fingers.
“But what is it?” Ludwig asked again.
Kiku shrugged and ate the last bit of her cheese. She knew exactly what it was, but it was always so embarrassing to explain her paintings. The painting was of a sika deer that had been ripped open, but rather than blood and organs on the inside, the deer was full of cherry blossoms, which it laid in as it cried. She had asked Feliciano for feedback before he went to bed, and he was awed by it. She felt comfortable sharing with Feliciano, knowing he’d give proper feedback and encouragement since he’s also an art nerd.
“Can I see it?” Ludwig requested, sitting up a bit.
Kiku knew if Ludwig were to see it he would say something like “I wish I could draw like that”, which was nice for Kiku to hear when she was 12, but at this point it was overstated and every time she heard it now she just felt awkward.
“No, sorry. It isn’t done yet.” Kiku said, a bit embarrassed.
“Alright, I won’t push.” Ludwig said before leaning back on the back of the couch again.
Kiku sighed and reached towards her claw clip again, she then stood up and twisted her hair up into a messy bun that she then held in place before making the clip clamp down on it. “I should probably get back to work— goodnight Ludwig.”
“Goodnight, Kiku.”
Ludwig sat on the couch and looked back down at his computer. He really didn’t want to reopen it, but he felt a need to. His eyes felt heavy and his body weak. He sighed and laid down on the leather couch, letting the lamp illuminate his face from right above him. He stared at his papers, until his blinks grew slower and slower, until his eyes closed for the night, and he drifted off to sleep.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･