Eight Hours
Sleep was for the weak.
While Ariost had never bothered to voice that statement, he had also never bothered to get more than five hours worth when working on a project he deemed important. He was like a machine, the excitement of forging past his predecessors spurring him on.
Everyone else found it admirable; a testament to his dedication.
Misha found it irritating; proof of his obsessiveness. Indeed, Ariost had long ago gotten used to her barging in after a late class had let out, and subsequently start lecturing him on the importance of getting a good night's rest. He had never bothered pointing out that she was wasting time he could have been using to sleep. She would have never believed it, anyway.
Everything came to a head sooner than he had expected. The Neural Armor research had really taken off after Wein Cruz had paid him a visit, and thus Ariost found himself working harder than he had in a long while. The scholar welcomed the challenge; this was experimental, after all, and he had never lost his love for experiments.
He had been standing on a ladder in his lab, flipping through a book while reading notes in the margins, when he heard the door open. He sighed, knowing perfectly well who it was. While normally glad to see her, he really didn't need distractions.
A fact that she chose to ignore, as Misha began to once again expound on why working for 16 hours straight was detrimental to one's health. Ariost sighed, and began to massage his temples with his right hand. Turning around, he began to explain that he didn't have any time to rest, that this was a very important assignment-
And therefore was unprepared for Misha climbing up onto the ladder and attempting to pull him down. The scientist, of course, was unamused, and immediately asked her to stop.
The redhead's response was to pull harder, insistent on making him listen. At that moment, Misha's points were proven, as the fatigued Ariost simply didn't have the faculties to stay balanced.
The result was a falling scientist, a surprised braided girl, and a fallen ladder.
The back of his head hit the ground hard, so the small explosion of pain masked Misha's surprised yelp. Ariost let out a long groan after contact, and tried hard to focus on anything else except the raging ache.
A few moments passed. Ariost, the pulsing in his head having receded somewhat, registered a weight on him. A warm weight.
A cough made him look down, and he was rewarded with a shot of Misha's blushing face. Through some kind of midair miracle, Misha had managed to land on top of him. Ariost's eyes widened, but said nothing. Misha stared at him for a few seconds, looking like she was making a decision-
And sighed contentedly, as she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes, a small smile gracing her delicate features. Ariost opened his mouth – then closed it. Why bother? Moving his right arm to the back of her head, he too closed his eyes, feeling more tired than he had in a long time.
He could always resume work tomorrow. He hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in a while, anyway.