Meine Liebe ficlet: Mornings

[narcasse]

Because it’s cold, I’ve just eaten a quarter-pounder with cheese for breakfast and I am procrastinating like a sleeping shoggoth.
A small ficlet for the lanithro just to prove that I’ve not forgotten about the other one I should be writing.


413 words. G/PG. Implied goings on in the boys dormitory.


Mornings

Disclaimer: Meine Liebe belongs to Konami, Yuki Kaori and others.

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Mornings as Rosenstoltz are damnably cold during the winter term so much so that were Naoji any other man he’d stay tucked up in bed for as long as possible. As it is he throws back the covers and gets out of bed quickly. Stands in the centre of his room and stretches, tests his balance on his right knee where he’s sure he’s sustained some sort of injury and then goes about his morning ablutions.
Then he pulls on a heavy dressing-gown and selects a book from the nightstand before heading out of his room and down the corridor.

He passes several other students in the hallway making their way back to their own rooms at the end of the night and halfway along has to pause to direct a shuffling Orpherus in the direction of the room he actually inhabits.
Orpherus blinks at him several times so Naoji simply points in the direction of Orpherus’ rooms with an added “You live down there.” Which earns him a vague smile and a “Good night” in French. Naoji watches Orpherus shuffle off down the corridor for a moment, worried but then goes about his own business because someone is bound to point Orpherus in the right direction if he gets lost anyway.

Not far from his destination a small voice calls out timidly “Naoji-sama”.
The younger student whispers the honorific in hushed awe and presents the breakfast tray that Naoji has requested from the kitchens. Naoji makes a show of peering down his nose and inspecting the tray before nodding his approval and continuing on with his breakfast being dutifully carried behind.
He comes to a stop outside Ludwig’s rooms, places his book on the tray which he takes and dismisses his would be servant with a curt nod.

Naoji places the tray on Ludwig’s nightstand and waits a moment before abruptly drawing back the curtains. He turns round and again waits for a response.
Beneath the heavy covers Ludwig is almost entirely hidden save for the top of his head. Then a dark gloved hand emerges from beneath the blankets and Ludwig gestures for Naoji to close the curtains a little. Having done so, Naoji climbs into bed since Ludwig is no longer planted squarely in the middle and Ludwig disappears back beneath the covers. So Naoji reaches for things on the breakfast tray, rather certain that this is not at all a bad way to spend a cold morning at all.

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It’s standard public school/boarding school use of younger students as servants!
And Ludwig is wearing cotton gloves at night to help keep his hands soft.

Naoji is still reading Lovecraft several years prior to publication though. ^_~

Also, why can't I spell 'Rosenstoltz' any more?

Comments

[lanithro.livejournal.com]

This is lovely! You are marvellous. Wai!

I do especially like your school-tart!Orpherus; his sleepy mumbling in French is devastatingly cute.

Are you certain that this is before Lovecraft published? I thought he died in 1937- so wouldn't 1935-ish be about the right time to be reading it?

[reichsfreiherr.livejournal.com]

I’m sure there was something about Lovecraft being published posthumously... Apparently "At the Mountains of Madness" was only published in 1964 and "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" seems to be the earliest being published in 1941.
Never let it be said that I don’t waste my time on little random details.

Glad you liked it anyway. ^_^
I am working on the other promised fic but it’s suddenly gone all angsty and that’s not just because of accidentally-of-dubious-fidelity Orpherus.

[lanithro.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to reading it. ^^ Is there any other sort of Orpherus, though? (Other than shamelessly-of-dubious-fidelity Orpherus, of course.)


I’m sure there was something about Lovecraft being published posthumously...

I'd thought he made a living off writing though- he wrote stories for magazines and stuff.

[reichsfreiherr.livejournal.com]

I’ve been meaning to look it up but and it seems that his first publication was in 1923 so you’re right. I think it might be that “In the Mountains of Madness” wasn’t published until later or something. Maybe they weren’t published in book format but only in magazines until later.

Thanks for pointing that out. Now you’ve opened the floodgates for Naoji to be quoting almost anything in the first omnibus volume for very little reason at all. ^_~