Old Fic because I've got the Writing Bug
Jul. 11th, 2013 02:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
desuravenTitle: Chance Encounters of the Kaninchen Kind
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Austria/femPrussia
Rating: PG
Warnings: University Human AU (and therefore human names)
Summary: A pretentious literature student meets a pretentious psychology student and an embarrassing lack of communication occurs.
Notes: This was written a year ago on a 13 hour flight from Japan so my English is probably atrocious, and there was little to no editing done as I tried to race my laptop battery. It's also my first fic since high school so yeah.
“There’s going to be a party at my apartment this evening. I’m not very good that this type of thing but, ah, if you’d like to come there will be a lot of people there. Maybe you could make some friends…”
Roderich inclined his head at the invitation. For the shy and, if he were to be quite honest with himself, cute, Ludwig to reach out like that was certainly unexpected. If he knew what was to come from such an invitation perhaps he would have declined, but perhaps, that would have been an even bigger mistake instead.
A second year psychology student at the University of Berlin, Roderich Edelstein could not help but find himself a bit lonely. Of course he held no delusions that Berlin would be like his native Vienna- Germany was quite different from Austria thank you very much- but it had still been harder than he thought to connect with the people- his classmates, his professors, his neighbors. Aside from the shy freshman he had met by chance a few weeks ago there wasn’t really anyone he could call a friend here in Berlin. He had once considered that his standards were too high, but quickly dismissed it. He was not the type of person to need constant interaction with people; he would much rather have his solitude than willingly surround himself with idiots. But still, it would be nice to have a girlfriend- or a boyfriend, he wasn’t picky- someone who could hold him and keep him company as he played Chopin long into the nights.
Which is why instead, he accepted Ludwig’s invitation. One night to meet new people couldn’t hurt. If all else failed he could use it as an opportunity to get closer to Ludwig after all.
Xx
Ludwig’s apartment, conveniently close to campus Roderich noted with a touch of envy, was as clean and immaculate as he would have expected from the uptight young freshman. Even with this huge crowd of people every drink had a coaster, all the furniture had plastic covers, and the food seemed unnaturally neat and organized on the small kitchen table. Roderich was thoroughly impressed.
However, that did nothing to change the aforementioned large crowd. Or the terrible music. Or the poor lighting. This is why he preferred not to go to parties with his classmates; there was nothing that could make subjecting oneself to this torture worth it.
“Roderich, I’m glad you made it.” That was Ludwig’s voice. Good, he was starting to get anxious surrounded by all of these unfamiliar people.
“Yes, thank you for inviting me Ludwig.” He replied, tone neutral and polite, as soon as they were able to make their way to each other. “This is…quite the gathering you have. I suppose you weren’t kidding when you said there would be many people here.”
“Ah…well, this wasn’t my idea.” Ludiwg seemed more uncomfortable than Roderich himself. Strange. But he let the boy continue. “It was my si-“
Suddenly, as if there was no regard or awareness for all the people around them, a young woman appeared behind Ludwig, clinging to his arm with one hand and chugging down a beer in the other. Disgusting. It wasn’t that she was bad looking, not at all; with blonde hair so light it was practically white, and bright blueish pink eyes, pale skin lighter than would seem conceivable yet not touching on sickly, an average sized chest and well, perhaps she was tall for a woman but from his point of view tiny enough to be held and cuddled tight, it would be hard to call her unattractive.
“Westennnnnnn. Come play beer pong with us!!”
It was a shame about her voice, though. And her attitude. It was equally a shame she had her claws all over Ludwig but that was another matter entirely.
“Sister! Can’t you see I’m in the middle of a conversation!?” Ludwig raised his voice at the leech attached to him, and Roderich couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved. Both at the familial relationship and that the poor boy seemed to have a backbone after all.
The mysterious woman turned her attention from Ludwig to Roderich, seemingly sizing him up. “Oi. Fruitcake. Stay the hell away from my little brother. He’s got a cute boyfriend and the cool me has already given my blessing so there.”
“I beg your pardon? To whom do you think you’re addressing in such a manner!?” Roderich snapped back before he realized. He could certainly understand why the timid Ludwig had no problem raising his voice around this sibling of his now. Ah, but he was taken had she said? What a shame.
“I’m talking to you four-eyes! Weirdo dressed in a suit made for old timey movies.”
“Sister, please!” Ludwig interrupted, looking quite distressed. “Forgive her Roderich, she’s usually more calm when she’s intoxicated.”
“That’s because I’m not freaking drunk yet, brat. Come onnnn Westen ditch the rich boy stereotype and play with me!!”
Roderich coughed into his hand politely, grabbing the attention of the bickering siblings. “It’s quite alright.” It wasn’t, of course, but one cannot control their family and there was no need to embarrass Ludwig any further. Unlike his sister he seemed to posses a proper amount of shame. “But if I may ask, why does she call you West?”
“Ah, that’s because I was born in West Berlin.”
Roderich turned his head back towards the woman, intrigued by the answer. “And she was not? In East Berlin then.” She was the older one then, how unexpected.
“Nope!” She declared brightly, cutting off what ever reply Ludwig had. “The awesome me was born in Prussia.”
Roderich scoffed. “Your grandmother perhaps, but not you.”
“Oh yeah? What would you know about it anyway!?”
“I was one of the few students who would read the footnotes in my history textbooks.” He was a touch surprised his flippant remark seemed to aggravate her further and he laughed. “Dear me, have I stumbled upon the only proud German left in the world?”
Before their bickering could get out of hand Ludwig excused himself and his sister, finally indulging in her request for beer pong. Foolish. Roderich mingled for a while, perhaps drinking more than he should have, but eventually left, completely prepared to forget all about the strange woman.
Xx
Luck was not on Roderich’s side though, and the rude but beautiful woman would occasionally drift into his thoughts. He was at the university’s library studying, or attempting to anyway. He was a bit hungover as it turns out, and it was getting harder to focus by the minute. Perhaps if he shut his eyes for a bit…
“If you drool in that book I’m going to tell the librarian.”
Startled awake by the sudden voice, Roderich jumped up, apologizing immediately. “Forgive me, I was just closing my eyes for a moment and I- You!!”
Ludwig’s older sister stood before him, looking quite upset if he were to guess, and he instantaneously felt both more sheepish and a little affronted by the accusation.
“I don’t care about your excuses, books aren’t pillows. You should treat them with respect.”
Oh. Now he was definitely affronted. “And what would someone like you know about books?”
“I don’t want to hear that from a guy drooling over a German translation of classic French literature.”
Roderich stared dumbly for a moment, not expecting such a response. “Has it not occurred to you that maybe I cannot speak French?”
She crossed her arms, rolling her eyes at him. “How is that my problem? Everyone should know French.”
He pushed his glasses up on his nose, frowning now. “Forgive me, but I’ve been a bit preoccupied with the more practical English.”
It was her turn to scoff then, “English is only good for Shakespeare and vampires.”
He was about to challenge what the girl before him knew of Shakespeare, honestly he could not believe such a…a party girl could be literate, let alone so well read, but something more important came to mind. “You cannot judge the value of a language based on the literature produced in it.”
“Sure I can,” She retorted, acting as smug as ever, “it’s called the Prussian Method of Language Education.”
“Again with Prussia,” he groaned, “Surely what ever nonsense theory you’re trying to explain has a more acceptable name by now.”
The girl huffed, but seemed to have dropped the conversation in favor of considering his book again. “If you have to read it in German,” she finally said, voice without the confrontational edge in it for the first time since they met, “read the second edition. The translation is better at keeping the feel of the original novel.”
And just like that she was gone again, leaving Roderich to stare in disbelief at his pile of books.
Xx
He did not see the mysterious woman again for several weeks. The few times he was invited back to Ludwig’s apartment she was not around and apart from the brief time he allotted for such socializations he was quite busy between his studies and his piano.
But with exam week coming up he could no longer avoid borrowing some of the school’s resources, and so he found himself struggling to find a place to sit and work in the crowded library. This was how me met the young woman again, when the only seat available was directly in front of her.
She didn’t notice him sit across from her, he thought, as her nose was so buried in the book she was reading he could barely see her face. It was an amazing sight actually, to see her flipping though pages so quickly with one had while the other furiously taking down notes in a little notebook beside her. And was that book in Russian? Amazing.
“Excuse me dear, but I don’t believe I caught your name.”
Roderich wasn’t sure what possessed him to speak up, but her wide-eyed look as she looked up at him, cheeks pink for some unexplainable reason, made him glad that he did. Dare he think it, the wild ruffian before him was kind of cute.
“I’m the awesome Julchen.” She finally answered, putting down her pen and looking expectantly at him.
“Would that happen to be for Julia?”
She nodded, though her look never faltered. Oh. He was meant to continue the conversation.
“A lovely name. I’m Roderich, it is…nice to be properly introduced.” Even never faulting manners could not get him to say it was a pleasure. His opinion of her may have improved slightly but he still couldn’t shake the loud, obnoxious, impression she made.
“Yeah…” Was it his imagination or was she blushing even more now…? “Aren’t you here to study four-eyes? I won’t forgive you if I don’t get this done because you’re talking to me.”
“Do not call me that. But I shall leave you in peace.”
Opening his books, Roderich focused the rest of the evening on his studies. Ludwig’s older sister- Julchen- did so as well, and they worked in comfortable silence.
Xx
It became a ritual soon after. After his last lecture in the afternoons Roderich would go to the library and find Julchen, nose in a book. Sometimes she was diligently taking notes and other times she was just reading. He’s not sure why, exactly, he started seeking out her company like this; they rarely spoke and when they did it was usually for her to call him names or brag about herself, truly unattractive. But having a routine was nice.
Soon, it became a game. Julchen started sequestering herself in different sections of the library each day. At first, Roderich was afraid he’d somehow offended her- though quite frankly it would serve her right if he had, one can only be called four-eyes, and a fruit, and a wanna be aristocrat for so long before it becomes abuse- but when she expressed confusion over the fact he didn’t come find her, he decided to let her have her fun.
It took a few months, but eventually Roderich realized he could figure out the wild girl’s mood by what section she hid herself in. Military History was when she was aggravated, Russian Literature for when she was sad, Historical fiction was happy, French Literature when she was contemplative, Autobiographies when she was bored, and Classical Literature when she was neutral.
“I’ve found you Julia.”
It was a warm spring afternoon in April and after much searching Roderich set down his books across from his rather interesting companion. He noted, with some confusion, that they were in the cubbies by the German Literature section. Now what could that mean?
“My name is Julchen.” She replied without looking up, scribbling furiously in her notebook.
“Yes, well if you insist on calling me four-eyes I think you can handle being addressed by your proper name.” Opening his textbook to the material he needed to cover Roderich looked down with a sigh. Child psych. Gods how he hated children.
“How about Specs then?”
“Excuse me?”
Julchen had a mischievous glint to her eyes as she repeated, “How about the cute as a little bird me calls you Specs from now on?”
Roderich frowned slightly, “That is hardly any better. If you insist on these ridiculous names I will continue to address you properly to spite you.”
The mischievous look never left Julchen’s eyes, but she stayed quiet and went back to her work.
Several hours later Roderich found himself having completed very little of his reading and instead giving more time to what the meaning behind being in the German Literature section could be. As his mind wandered so too did his eyes, and soon he was just looking at Julchen. When had he started to consider her someone enjoyable to be around exactly? Her good looks could not make up for her mouth forever, and god knows once she started pulling his hair he was ready to storm out of the library and never return.
And yet, he always did. Everyday without fail for the last four months he spent his afternoons with the annoying little pest that called herself the awesome Julchen Beilschmidt. He endured lectures and opinions about all types of literature despite his general lack of interest. He loved books, don’t get him wrong, but Miss Literature Major could do to keep her opinions and judgments to herself, especially when she decided to stray from the topic of literature. She had once even asked him about his sex life, honestly the woman had no sense of class.
But there was some charm about her, he supposed, for he kept coming back and finding himself thoroughly captivated by her and her wild ways. So charmed in fact, that on this quiet afternoon in the mysterious German Literature section, he leaned over the table and when Julchen next lifted her head he kissed her.
He’s not sure what he was expecting, but her lips were unbelievably soft and it was so hard to keep his kiss gentle against them. His hand came up to cup her face, stroking her cheek and just reveling in the sensation as long as he could.
He certainly didn’t expect it to hurt so much when she got up and left after they broke apart for air.
Xx
Roderich didn’t see Julchen for several weeks after that. He searched the library high and low; even though his weak constitution protested he had to be sure he wasn’t missing her. It was when he resorted to the Romance Fiction section she despised so much that he knew he should give up.
Calling Ludwig’s cell phone yielded no results either, and if it weren’t for the fact she had left her notebook behind that cursed day he would have just written her off for good.
Her notebook, covered in little chick designs, now lived permanently in his shoulder bag- backpacks were unfashionable and heavy and there was nothing gay about a man using a shoulder bag Julia honestly- except when he took it out to run his fingers over the cover. He wanted to look inside, but he considered himself not that desperately love-sick yet, so he focused on the birds on the cover instead. How like her.
It was nearing exam time again soon and still no word from Julchen, how could she pass without her notebook? He could, given enough music and alcohol, forgive himself for ruining what could have been an odd but somehow fulfilling friendship. He could not, however, forgive his stupidity making her fail her exams.
In a final attempt to locate her, and perhaps apologize for misreading the signs so badly, he headed over to the library one last time. The calendar read the 15th of May, the last day before exams,
Xx
He tried Russian literature at first; surely she was upset he had been so forward with her? But there was no luck. Then Military History, was she angry he’d do such a thing? Again, no luck. French literature? Again no…could he be lucky enough for Classical? No, and Historical Fiction was right out.
Tired, frustrated, and confused, Roderich stopped to rest in an open seat, laughing bitterly when he noticed he was in the German literature section.
“I’ve found you Specs.”
Roderich’s head spun around so quickly he nearly gave himself whiplash, but he’d never been more relieved to hear that grating, obnoxious voice in his life. “Julia!”
She was grinning; her usual cocky smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She looked nervous. Roderich couldn’t say he blamed her and he stood up, mind racing for something to say to make it up to her. To take back the stupid kiss and the weeks of not seeing each other and all of it.
Instead, his mind was effectively silenced, by a shy peck to his lips as soon as he’d parted them.
“I’m…” Julchen pulled away, but not too far, and attempted to speak. “I haven’t…I mean…I’m not. Th-This kind of thing…”
“Julia, do you mean to say you’ve not been in a relationship before?”
“Shut. Up.” She hissed, but then a nod. “S-So I spooked. I mean, I really freaked out. Totally unawesome. And I’m s- I’m so-“
“It’s alright. I understand, and I apologize for pushing you…Kaninchen.”
“Ka-Kaninchen!? I’m not a bunny!!” Julchen blushed furiously, and smacked his arm.
Roderich laughed, a watery kind of laugh that most would take to mean he had been crying, except he was above all that naturally. Her face was just too cute flustered like that, and he was relieved to have cleared the air between them.
“But of course you are, your hair is practically white as one and your eyes could not be more reddish unless you were suffering from albinism.” Roderich smiled, and pulled out her notebook, “And of course you doodle so many of them in here, longing to be with your own kind perhaps?”
“YOU BASTARD!” Alright, maybe he had peeked inside her notebook a little, but it was worth the reaction.
“Do not yell dear, we are still in a library. Come, I shall take you to my place for some quiet study. And we can talk about…all of this.”
Julchen stole her notebook back, hugging it protectively to her chest, and then took Roderich’s arm with a nod. “The cool me only has one rule. If you ever read that harlequin trash I know you like in front of me I’m dumping your ass.”
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Austria/femPrussia
Rating: PG
Warnings: University Human AU (and therefore human names)
Summary: A pretentious literature student meets a pretentious psychology student and an embarrassing lack of communication occurs.
Notes: This was written a year ago on a 13 hour flight from Japan so my English is probably atrocious, and there was little to no editing done as I tried to race my laptop battery. It's also my first fic since high school so yeah.
“There’s going to be a party at my apartment this evening. I’m not very good that this type of thing but, ah, if you’d like to come there will be a lot of people there. Maybe you could make some friends…”
Roderich inclined his head at the invitation. For the shy and, if he were to be quite honest with himself, cute, Ludwig to reach out like that was certainly unexpected. If he knew what was to come from such an invitation perhaps he would have declined, but perhaps, that would have been an even bigger mistake instead.
A second year psychology student at the University of Berlin, Roderich Edelstein could not help but find himself a bit lonely. Of course he held no delusions that Berlin would be like his native Vienna- Germany was quite different from Austria thank you very much- but it had still been harder than he thought to connect with the people- his classmates, his professors, his neighbors. Aside from the shy freshman he had met by chance a few weeks ago there wasn’t really anyone he could call a friend here in Berlin. He had once considered that his standards were too high, but quickly dismissed it. He was not the type of person to need constant interaction with people; he would much rather have his solitude than willingly surround himself with idiots. But still, it would be nice to have a girlfriend- or a boyfriend, he wasn’t picky- someone who could hold him and keep him company as he played Chopin long into the nights.
Which is why instead, he accepted Ludwig’s invitation. One night to meet new people couldn’t hurt. If all else failed he could use it as an opportunity to get closer to Ludwig after all.
Xx
Ludwig’s apartment, conveniently close to campus Roderich noted with a touch of envy, was as clean and immaculate as he would have expected from the uptight young freshman. Even with this huge crowd of people every drink had a coaster, all the furniture had plastic covers, and the food seemed unnaturally neat and organized on the small kitchen table. Roderich was thoroughly impressed.
However, that did nothing to change the aforementioned large crowd. Or the terrible music. Or the poor lighting. This is why he preferred not to go to parties with his classmates; there was nothing that could make subjecting oneself to this torture worth it.
“Roderich, I’m glad you made it.” That was Ludwig’s voice. Good, he was starting to get anxious surrounded by all of these unfamiliar people.
“Yes, thank you for inviting me Ludwig.” He replied, tone neutral and polite, as soon as they were able to make their way to each other. “This is…quite the gathering you have. I suppose you weren’t kidding when you said there would be many people here.”
“Ah…well, this wasn’t my idea.” Ludiwg seemed more uncomfortable than Roderich himself. Strange. But he let the boy continue. “It was my si-“
Suddenly, as if there was no regard or awareness for all the people around them, a young woman appeared behind Ludwig, clinging to his arm with one hand and chugging down a beer in the other. Disgusting. It wasn’t that she was bad looking, not at all; with blonde hair so light it was practically white, and bright blueish pink eyes, pale skin lighter than would seem conceivable yet not touching on sickly, an average sized chest and well, perhaps she was tall for a woman but from his point of view tiny enough to be held and cuddled tight, it would be hard to call her unattractive.
“Westennnnnnn. Come play beer pong with us!!”
It was a shame about her voice, though. And her attitude. It was equally a shame she had her claws all over Ludwig but that was another matter entirely.
“Sister! Can’t you see I’m in the middle of a conversation!?” Ludwig raised his voice at the leech attached to him, and Roderich couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved. Both at the familial relationship and that the poor boy seemed to have a backbone after all.
The mysterious woman turned her attention from Ludwig to Roderich, seemingly sizing him up. “Oi. Fruitcake. Stay the hell away from my little brother. He’s got a cute boyfriend and the cool me has already given my blessing so there.”
“I beg your pardon? To whom do you think you’re addressing in such a manner!?” Roderich snapped back before he realized. He could certainly understand why the timid Ludwig had no problem raising his voice around this sibling of his now. Ah, but he was taken had she said? What a shame.
“I’m talking to you four-eyes! Weirdo dressed in a suit made for old timey movies.”
“Sister, please!” Ludwig interrupted, looking quite distressed. “Forgive her Roderich, she’s usually more calm when she’s intoxicated.”
“That’s because I’m not freaking drunk yet, brat. Come onnnn Westen ditch the rich boy stereotype and play with me!!”
Roderich coughed into his hand politely, grabbing the attention of the bickering siblings. “It’s quite alright.” It wasn’t, of course, but one cannot control their family and there was no need to embarrass Ludwig any further. Unlike his sister he seemed to posses a proper amount of shame. “But if I may ask, why does she call you West?”
“Ah, that’s because I was born in West Berlin.”
Roderich turned his head back towards the woman, intrigued by the answer. “And she was not? In East Berlin then.” She was the older one then, how unexpected.
“Nope!” She declared brightly, cutting off what ever reply Ludwig had. “The awesome me was born in Prussia.”
Roderich scoffed. “Your grandmother perhaps, but not you.”
“Oh yeah? What would you know about it anyway!?”
“I was one of the few students who would read the footnotes in my history textbooks.” He was a touch surprised his flippant remark seemed to aggravate her further and he laughed. “Dear me, have I stumbled upon the only proud German left in the world?”
Before their bickering could get out of hand Ludwig excused himself and his sister, finally indulging in her request for beer pong. Foolish. Roderich mingled for a while, perhaps drinking more than he should have, but eventually left, completely prepared to forget all about the strange woman.
Xx
Luck was not on Roderich’s side though, and the rude but beautiful woman would occasionally drift into his thoughts. He was at the university’s library studying, or attempting to anyway. He was a bit hungover as it turns out, and it was getting harder to focus by the minute. Perhaps if he shut his eyes for a bit…
“If you drool in that book I’m going to tell the librarian.”
Startled awake by the sudden voice, Roderich jumped up, apologizing immediately. “Forgive me, I was just closing my eyes for a moment and I- You!!”
Ludwig’s older sister stood before him, looking quite upset if he were to guess, and he instantaneously felt both more sheepish and a little affronted by the accusation.
“I don’t care about your excuses, books aren’t pillows. You should treat them with respect.”
Oh. Now he was definitely affronted. “And what would someone like you know about books?”
“I don’t want to hear that from a guy drooling over a German translation of classic French literature.”
Roderich stared dumbly for a moment, not expecting such a response. “Has it not occurred to you that maybe I cannot speak French?”
She crossed her arms, rolling her eyes at him. “How is that my problem? Everyone should know French.”
He pushed his glasses up on his nose, frowning now. “Forgive me, but I’ve been a bit preoccupied with the more practical English.”
It was her turn to scoff then, “English is only good for Shakespeare and vampires.”
He was about to challenge what the girl before him knew of Shakespeare, honestly he could not believe such a…a party girl could be literate, let alone so well read, but something more important came to mind. “You cannot judge the value of a language based on the literature produced in it.”
“Sure I can,” She retorted, acting as smug as ever, “it’s called the Prussian Method of Language Education.”
“Again with Prussia,” he groaned, “Surely what ever nonsense theory you’re trying to explain has a more acceptable name by now.”
The girl huffed, but seemed to have dropped the conversation in favor of considering his book again. “If you have to read it in German,” she finally said, voice without the confrontational edge in it for the first time since they met, “read the second edition. The translation is better at keeping the feel of the original novel.”
And just like that she was gone again, leaving Roderich to stare in disbelief at his pile of books.
Xx
He did not see the mysterious woman again for several weeks. The few times he was invited back to Ludwig’s apartment she was not around and apart from the brief time he allotted for such socializations he was quite busy between his studies and his piano.
But with exam week coming up he could no longer avoid borrowing some of the school’s resources, and so he found himself struggling to find a place to sit and work in the crowded library. This was how me met the young woman again, when the only seat available was directly in front of her.
She didn’t notice him sit across from her, he thought, as her nose was so buried in the book she was reading he could barely see her face. It was an amazing sight actually, to see her flipping though pages so quickly with one had while the other furiously taking down notes in a little notebook beside her. And was that book in Russian? Amazing.
“Excuse me dear, but I don’t believe I caught your name.”
Roderich wasn’t sure what possessed him to speak up, but her wide-eyed look as she looked up at him, cheeks pink for some unexplainable reason, made him glad that he did. Dare he think it, the wild ruffian before him was kind of cute.
“I’m the awesome Julchen.” She finally answered, putting down her pen and looking expectantly at him.
“Would that happen to be for Julia?”
She nodded, though her look never faltered. Oh. He was meant to continue the conversation.
“A lovely name. I’m Roderich, it is…nice to be properly introduced.” Even never faulting manners could not get him to say it was a pleasure. His opinion of her may have improved slightly but he still couldn’t shake the loud, obnoxious, impression she made.
“Yeah…” Was it his imagination or was she blushing even more now…? “Aren’t you here to study four-eyes? I won’t forgive you if I don’t get this done because you’re talking to me.”
“Do not call me that. But I shall leave you in peace.”
Opening his books, Roderich focused the rest of the evening on his studies. Ludwig’s older sister- Julchen- did so as well, and they worked in comfortable silence.
Xx
It became a ritual soon after. After his last lecture in the afternoons Roderich would go to the library and find Julchen, nose in a book. Sometimes she was diligently taking notes and other times she was just reading. He’s not sure why, exactly, he started seeking out her company like this; they rarely spoke and when they did it was usually for her to call him names or brag about herself, truly unattractive. But having a routine was nice.
Soon, it became a game. Julchen started sequestering herself in different sections of the library each day. At first, Roderich was afraid he’d somehow offended her- though quite frankly it would serve her right if he had, one can only be called four-eyes, and a fruit, and a wanna be aristocrat for so long before it becomes abuse- but when she expressed confusion over the fact he didn’t come find her, he decided to let her have her fun.
It took a few months, but eventually Roderich realized he could figure out the wild girl’s mood by what section she hid herself in. Military History was when she was aggravated, Russian Literature for when she was sad, Historical fiction was happy, French Literature when she was contemplative, Autobiographies when she was bored, and Classical Literature when she was neutral.
“I’ve found you Julia.”
It was a warm spring afternoon in April and after much searching Roderich set down his books across from his rather interesting companion. He noted, with some confusion, that they were in the cubbies by the German Literature section. Now what could that mean?
“My name is Julchen.” She replied without looking up, scribbling furiously in her notebook.
“Yes, well if you insist on calling me four-eyes I think you can handle being addressed by your proper name.” Opening his textbook to the material he needed to cover Roderich looked down with a sigh. Child psych. Gods how he hated children.
“How about Specs then?”
“Excuse me?”
Julchen had a mischievous glint to her eyes as she repeated, “How about the cute as a little bird me calls you Specs from now on?”
Roderich frowned slightly, “That is hardly any better. If you insist on these ridiculous names I will continue to address you properly to spite you.”
The mischievous look never left Julchen’s eyes, but she stayed quiet and went back to her work.
Several hours later Roderich found himself having completed very little of his reading and instead giving more time to what the meaning behind being in the German Literature section could be. As his mind wandered so too did his eyes, and soon he was just looking at Julchen. When had he started to consider her someone enjoyable to be around exactly? Her good looks could not make up for her mouth forever, and god knows once she started pulling his hair he was ready to storm out of the library and never return.
And yet, he always did. Everyday without fail for the last four months he spent his afternoons with the annoying little pest that called herself the awesome Julchen Beilschmidt. He endured lectures and opinions about all types of literature despite his general lack of interest. He loved books, don’t get him wrong, but Miss Literature Major could do to keep her opinions and judgments to herself, especially when she decided to stray from the topic of literature. She had once even asked him about his sex life, honestly the woman had no sense of class.
But there was some charm about her, he supposed, for he kept coming back and finding himself thoroughly captivated by her and her wild ways. So charmed in fact, that on this quiet afternoon in the mysterious German Literature section, he leaned over the table and when Julchen next lifted her head he kissed her.
He’s not sure what he was expecting, but her lips were unbelievably soft and it was so hard to keep his kiss gentle against them. His hand came up to cup her face, stroking her cheek and just reveling in the sensation as long as he could.
He certainly didn’t expect it to hurt so much when she got up and left after they broke apart for air.
Xx
Roderich didn’t see Julchen for several weeks after that. He searched the library high and low; even though his weak constitution protested he had to be sure he wasn’t missing her. It was when he resorted to the Romance Fiction section she despised so much that he knew he should give up.
Calling Ludwig’s cell phone yielded no results either, and if it weren’t for the fact she had left her notebook behind that cursed day he would have just written her off for good.
Her notebook, covered in little chick designs, now lived permanently in his shoulder bag- backpacks were unfashionable and heavy and there was nothing gay about a man using a shoulder bag Julia honestly- except when he took it out to run his fingers over the cover. He wanted to look inside, but he considered himself not that desperately love-sick yet, so he focused on the birds on the cover instead. How like her.
It was nearing exam time again soon and still no word from Julchen, how could she pass without her notebook? He could, given enough music and alcohol, forgive himself for ruining what could have been an odd but somehow fulfilling friendship. He could not, however, forgive his stupidity making her fail her exams.
In a final attempt to locate her, and perhaps apologize for misreading the signs so badly, he headed over to the library one last time. The calendar read the 15th of May, the last day before exams,
Xx
He tried Russian literature at first; surely she was upset he had been so forward with her? But there was no luck. Then Military History, was she angry he’d do such a thing? Again, no luck. French literature? Again no…could he be lucky enough for Classical? No, and Historical Fiction was right out.
Tired, frustrated, and confused, Roderich stopped to rest in an open seat, laughing bitterly when he noticed he was in the German literature section.
“I’ve found you Specs.”
Roderich’s head spun around so quickly he nearly gave himself whiplash, but he’d never been more relieved to hear that grating, obnoxious voice in his life. “Julia!”
She was grinning; her usual cocky smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She looked nervous. Roderich couldn’t say he blamed her and he stood up, mind racing for something to say to make it up to her. To take back the stupid kiss and the weeks of not seeing each other and all of it.
Instead, his mind was effectively silenced, by a shy peck to his lips as soon as he’d parted them.
“I’m…” Julchen pulled away, but not too far, and attempted to speak. “I haven’t…I mean…I’m not. Th-This kind of thing…”
“Julia, do you mean to say you’ve not been in a relationship before?”
“Shut. Up.” She hissed, but then a nod. “S-So I spooked. I mean, I really freaked out. Totally unawesome. And I’m s- I’m so-“
“It’s alright. I understand, and I apologize for pushing you…Kaninchen.”
“Ka-Kaninchen!? I’m not a bunny!!” Julchen blushed furiously, and smacked his arm.
Roderich laughed, a watery kind of laugh that most would take to mean he had been crying, except he was above all that naturally. Her face was just too cute flustered like that, and he was relieved to have cleared the air between them.
“But of course you are, your hair is practically white as one and your eyes could not be more reddish unless you were suffering from albinism.” Roderich smiled, and pulled out her notebook, “And of course you doodle so many of them in here, longing to be with your own kind perhaps?”
“YOU BASTARD!” Alright, maybe he had peeked inside her notebook a little, but it was worth the reaction.
“Do not yell dear, we are still in a library. Come, I shall take you to my place for some quiet study. And we can talk about…all of this.”
Julchen stole her notebook back, hugging it protectively to her chest, and then took Roderich’s arm with a nod. “The cool me only has one rule. If you ever read that harlequin trash I know you like in front of me I’m dumping your ass.”
