#;udwig fanfic

[fullofgutsndopamine]

or: ludwig takes up jogging and keeps running into you

ludwig thinks if he keeps walking everything will work out.

one foot in front of the other, one, two, step-falls into a pace as his worn shoes kick gravel across the park.

a blanket had fallen over LA, leaving it dark as if someone was covering his eyes-even though it was dark sweat dropped down his back, made his shirt stick to him. he wondered how much longer he has to do this stupid fucking walk that's suppose to help his mental health or whatever bullshit Aimen has told him (he wasn't really listening)

ludwig kicks at a pebble with the tip of his boot and wishes the darkness would engulf him, swallow him whole and make him disappear.

look, nightly runs werent her favorite thing in the world but if it got her out of the house, that was enough for her.

the apartment was too small, too loud, became everything she hated with what seemed like overnight-

"Hey!"

her hands break your fall barely, can feel the tiny pebbles dig into your palms that she’ll have to pick out later.

her head whips up at the figure in front of her who looks more confused than she is.

"Who wears all black to go on a fucking jog in the middle of the night?!" she huff, shaking dirt off from her shirt, "idiot."

ludwig shakes his head as if he's waking himself up before he finally offers his hand wordlessly to help her up. instead, she smacks it out of the way, grumbling as you struggle to stand.

"So," she pushes, still irritated, "the all black?" ludwig's lips buzz with anxiety, trying to find the right words to make this count.

instead, it comes out like this:

"victim blaming," he huffs but the smirk gives him away, "in 2023? real nice."

"it's not victim blaming if you aren't the victim, idiot."

"you could at least ask my name before you try and bully someone off the trail."

she wants to wipe the stupid fucking smirk off his face.

"So i have a name to match with the idiot who decides to wear dark clothes at night?" she crosses her arms over her chest, "sure. give me a name."

now he smiles, crossing his own arms over his chest:

"no, now i don't think you actually want it."

"you're an actual liability," she huff back, "next time wear a safety vest."

and she takes back off on her run before he can see how pink her face is.

days pass. she almost forgets about the encounter if it wasn't for the gravel stained marks on her palms.

the next time she sees him, she hears him before she see him.

he falls into step as she jog.

"so look," he says, immediately matching your stride,

"i wore a fucking pink shirt so i wouldn't be a liability today."

she rub at your temples:

"didn't i say a safety vest, not brightly colored shirt?" his eyebrows scrunch together and he looks genuinely confused:

"is it not the same thing?"

she roll your eyes, squinted at the horizon ahead.

"it's ludwig, by the way." his voice is so quiet next to her, she would almost miss it, "that's my name. Ludwig."

finally she looks over at him and he looks nervous for a second, like he's afraid he passed an imaginary line or said the wrong thing (he always says the wrong fucking thing)

"ludwig," she tries his name in her mouth, getting use to the way it feels, the way it falls off her tongue.

"hm."

"that a good hm?" he teases, finally smiling as you slow down to a slower walk with him, "i hope?"

she wipe at your face to hide the smile.

"indifferent, for now."

it becomes a routine. there's no set time-when darkness falls over LA and the only sound is the hum of cars passing by and crickets in the background is when she begins her walk. eventually, she starts seeing ludwig in the parking lot-both stretching together as she take off on the same route. ludwig listens as she point out the same flowers, acting like she don't always tell him what they are, and she laugh as he trips over his feet as he always does. it's a comfortable routine.

days pass without her. for a while he's afraid he said the wrong thing, did the wrong thing, that she’ll be gone forever.

he finally sees her as she sits on the regular bench kicking her feet, neck craned as if she’s looking for someone. he approaches her slowly, a if he's unsure.

With ludwig's fists buried deep in his pockets he stares at the ground to stop the words from falling out of his mouth and falling at the gravel under him. they're shaped like her: missed her yesterday it spills out quietly on the ground not the same without her here. he watches as the words fall at the ground under him and he uses his boots to kick gravel over them before he can do anything stupid, like say the words that so desperately dance on the tip of his tongue.

instead he says:

"Hey"

she all but hops out of her seat, hoping she don't come off as too eager.

"Hey!" she finally say back, a large smile on her face, "finally. was thinking you weren't making it tonight. thought you quit on me."

"like you quit on me?"

he's teasing, hope it comes off that way and he's lucky, as the smile spreads across your lips:

"bastards at work tried to kill me this week-"

"ah," he shakes his head, the anxiety falling out with it, "i see they didn't succeed."

"guess they'll have to try harder."

he laughs, falling into place with her, trying to ignore how her hand hits his gently as they both walk and catch up with one another