(Guys I just started making title names and i can't keep the pattern up. I'm sorry I have failed you)

The door creaked open as Etho jiggled the keys out, stuffing them back into his vest pocket. His bag was sloppily slung over one shoulder with his laptop held in his other hand, and the empty coffee cup still in his free hand.

"Hmm? Oh I forgot to throw it away." He shrugged and opened the door more with his elbow, gliding in the somewhat messy dorm. It was cold, not like he minded, and the lights were on but dim. He shut the door behind him with his foot.

Doc was sitting at the dining table- or the creaky little table they ate at when the couch or their beds didn't suffice- staring at his computer screen.

He didn't even have to look up to notice or acknowledge Etho walking in.

"Well you were out late. You weren't here when I got home." Doc said, with a dialect Etho couldn't read traced in. His reading glasses were on the bridge of his nose, and the drink next to him wasn't the usual coffee Doc drank on late study nights.

"Yeah, got coffee." Etho answered, tossing the cup into the trash bin by the counter as he walked further in.

"Where?"

"That place you Beef showed me." He said, not actually knowing of the place.

"Oh so you liked it then." Doc looked up from his computer screen with a smile. "Why did it take so long to get coffee though?" His thick German accent hinted at an ulterior motive, which he emphasized with a smirk and raised eyebrow. Etho didn't get it.

"Coffee machine was broken." He told half of the truth. "I did coding homework while I waited."

Etho was sorta confused as to why he didn't tell Doc the truth, but it was too late to go back now. Maybe the caffeine in his system was messing with his head after so many long classes. Doc squinted, and didn't look like he really believed him, but dropped it anyway. 

Etho glanced over at Doc's desk, and got a better look at the drink on the desk.

"That's not coffee." He stated.

"Tea. Ren told me to try it. Something about a hippy group he was once in gave it to him."

"Oh cool, any good?" Etho asked.

Doc nodded. "He put a ton of honey in it he said was from a friend's personal beehive, and even though I don't have much of a sweet tooth, this might be the exception."

Etho hummed, and Doc stood up, turning his laptop off and flipping in under his robotic arm.

"Alright well I'm going to bed now Etho, I have a feeling this tea didn't have much caffeine. I gotta see if Ren has more caffeinated ones I can try."

"Are you becoming a Tea person now? Last time Beef tried to offer you tea you almost threw the cup out of the window." Etho chuckled, thinning his eyes at the caught creeper.

"U-uh well," Doc stuttered. "I decided to give it another try. It can't be that horrible if so many people like it." He retained his composure and said. Doc put his mug in the sink and walked over to his room

"Alright, if you need me, you know where I live." Etho chuckled, giving a quick wave to Doc before retreating to the couch to finish his work.

"Night slab!" Doc called out before disappearing into his room.

Etho cozied up on the couch with his knees tucked to the side of him. The atmosphere was quiet and calm next to the light from the clouded moon outside and if it weren't for the caffeine in his veins, he would've fallen asleep.

His computer screen was bright compared to the dark of the room, even with the dimness as low as it could be.

He hands typed, the movement keeping them warm enough to continue without them freezing up. Well that- and probably the fingerless gloves too.

Code scrolled between his brian, and an exhausted part of him was laughing at the fact it was like a matrix montage scene. All he needed was some fancy cameras and some old school editing and he could make a hollywood movie.

"What was I doing again?- oh right." He shook his head and continued. The professor said this was due in a week- maybe two actually- but if Etho got the basic framework and outlines done now, it would be so much easier to breeze through the rest of it later. Plus, it wasn't like this was the first, or the last, time he was gonna stay up late.

Somewhere during the night, he dozed off temporarily, waking up with an annoyed groan and getting right back to work. As he shook his head to physically shake the sleep out of his head, it never occurred to him he had fallen asleep because he was tired.

Code was typed faster than his mind could process it, but really, the bar was low for that. He could tell his typing was getting sloppier, so the last brain cell he had was smart enough to decide he could switch to bio homework until he was awake enough to type efficiently again. Fixing mistakes in code was much more taxing than just doing it slower and correctly the first time.

Bio was relatively easy since he had already done this review stuff in highschool, so most of it was a matter of clicking the right buttons and moving through with the reading the professor had assigned.

Minutes and hours mixed together and blurred by, unable to snap the workaholic out of his productive trance. He was comfortable with working as long as he needed to finish, and sleep didn't really seem necessary at this point either. In the moment- hours long really -all there was to life was him, his computer screen buzzing, and the darkness he was covered in. Peaceful in a productive way as he liked to put it. 

Etho never checked the time, so when the sunrise peeked over the horizon and shined in his droopy eyes from the window, he was a little taken back.

He didn't really mind that he had gotten so little sleep, but the amount of work that was accomplished didn't scream "productive" to him either. He frowned and sighed, closing his laptop and standing up for the first time that night. Sure he had shifted around a bit from one sitting position to another, but now his legs were the enemies, barely letting him wobble over to the counter to splash some water on his face.

The door creaked open and a bedhead Doc walked out, rolling his shoulders and stretching. He looked like he wanted to go back to bed, as most college students did after they actually went to sleep, but he still looked well rested. Especially compared to Etho.

They made eye contact, and Doc looked Etho up and down before his expression turned sour.

"Did you get any sleep last night?! At all?" Doc raised his arms up, before he realized something and he put them back down. Etho was too tired to analyze it.

"Yeah I fell asleep at one point." Etho said flatly. "Slowed me down."

"Dude what the hell?" Doc growled. "You need to take care of yourself. We're two days in the school year and you already pull an unneeded all nighter."

"I'm fine, ok." Etho said. And to a certain extent, it was true. Once you get past the 4am mark while staying up all night, your brain just gives up on believing it will get a temporary date with death and just lets you continue on as normal. He honestly didn't feel that tired mentally. 

"You're going to fall asleep during your classes." Doc huffed.

"I'll get more coffee. I feel more awake already." Etho countered.

"Dude-"

"You've pulled all-nighter's before, you know I'll feel fine today and then just go to sleep a little earlier." Etho interrupted.

Doc calmed down his temper, something Etho was still too slow to process, and averted his glare. "We'll go get coffee, go to class, and then I'm recruiting Beef to make sure you sleep after that." Doc was looking at him again with calmer eyes, and had a finger pointed at Etho's chest accusingly.

Etho chuckled, but still rolled his eyes at Doc's (goat)fatherness towards his friends. It was sweet. Annoying, but sweet. He crossed his arms, the tired smile shone through his eyes.

"Fine."

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(1422 words above the line)

yeah uh- you guys like the story? Any of you there?

Also don't be Etho- get sleep guys.