#stdw

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Ludwig hummed softly as he carefully tucked the long part of his tie through the loop that he'd made, adjusting it so that the four-in-hand knot he made rested a little loosely around his neck.

While he flipped down his collar and reached for his worn, navy blue jacket, Dell adjusted his hat next to him in their small bedroom mirror; the pretty rainbow one that changed colors that he spent so much time mining omni geodes in Skull Caverns for.

It was another day with more work to be done. Ludwig had 2 checkups planned for that day (Mikhail and Emily, if he remembers correctly) and he had to fill out all sorts of paperwork for a new order of supplies while Dell had plans to harvest some of his crops and ship them off the to be sold (while also performing his normal daily errands and spending the rest of the day in the mines, of course).

Days like this meant that the two of them unfortunately wouldn't see each other until they both got home at around 10 that night, both exhausted and (most likely) too tired to do anything other than get in bed and read or watch TV together before falling asleep.

Alas, such was the life of a farmer and the only medical professional in town. Not that either of them would give up their jobs for the world; it was what they loved doing and being in the valley is what led them to each other, after all. Just that days like these weren't ones Ludwig was particularly fond of.

As Dell reached into the pockets of his overalls for his gloves, he looked over to his husband in the mirror, unable to keep a smile from creeping onto his face.

When Ludwig caught his eye he chuckled, turning around to face him.

"What is it?"

"Oh, nothing. Just lookin' at the most handsome man in the entire valley."

Ludwig's face flushed slightly as he scoffed, shaking his head in amusement.

"It's true, don't deny it," Dell teased, putting his hands on Ludwig's hips and standing on his toes to give him a quick kiss that his husband gladly reciprocated. His eyes then shifted downwards, brow furrowing slightly.

"Hey, where's your pendant?"

Ludwig's smile dropped as he panicked momentarily, softly patting where the shell normally rested against his chest before remembering and letting out a soft sigh of relief.

"I left it in the bathroom after I took a shower. Could you be a dear and go get it for me?"

"No problem, starry eyes," Dell smiled, giving him a kiss on the cheek before heading out of their room.

As Ludwig carefully parted his hair in the mirror (even though he knew it'd probably get messed up again in a few hours), he let out a surprised chuckle as Dell came up behind him, putting his pendant around his neck for him and gently closing the clasp.

"Alrighty, I gotta go down and tend to the ladies. You know how fussy they get if I don't feed 'em before 9. Are there any particular crops you wanted me to save before I sent most of it off?" Engie asked, pulling his work gloves over his hands. Medic paused for a moment.

"What do we have?"

"All sorts of stuff, I reckon. Peppers, blueberries, radishes, tomatoes, cabbage, some various flowers. Also I think some of the fruit trees have fruit that's ready to be harvested."

"Save me some tomatoes, blueberries, a peach, and a cabbage? I'll make that salad you really like tomorrow so you don't have to cook."

"Shucks, alright, I can do that. I'm headin' out now, your lunch is on the counter. Have a good day at work, baby," Dell smiled, giving him another kiss on the cheek before heading out.

As he made his was down the stairs, Ludwig stuck his head out of their bedroom door and yelled, "Try not to get yourself into too much trouble, ok?" after him.

Dell looked up at him and grinned.

"No promises, sweetheart!" He laughed, giving him a wink before shifting his goggles over his eyes and going out through the front door.

Ludwig let out an amused huff. 50/50 chance his farmer husband was going to get himself hurt and come limping into the clinic with that same mirth in his eyes, acting like 4 of his bones weren't broken and that there weren't huge bruises forming all over his abdomen. And as per usual, he'd get upset with him for not being more careful, but really, how could he stay mad at such a sweet face?

It was a miracle he was still alive, though. But he supposed miracles happened for some reason or another. I mean, here they were, weren't they? Together, he means. He considers that in and of itself a miracle, though that's a conversation for another day.

Ludwig shook his head to get himself out of his internal monologuing. He then checked the time on his phone, swearing softly beneath his breath as he realized he needed to open the clinic in less than 30 minutes.

He finished adjusting his hair, letting out a soft sound of displeasure when he realized his curls were already resisting the gel he'd put in it.

No matter, he'd deal. As well as note to himself that he needed to start buying a different brand of hair gel.

He grabbed his bag from the corner of the room where he always put it before rushing downstairs, his doves following after him as he went to go fill his water bottle.

When he turned around, he saw a glass container filled with fried mushrooms and rice, as well as a carefully wrapped poppyseed muffin, waiting for him on the counter, a little sticky note with a smiley face surrounded by hearts stuck on top of the container.

Ludwig smiled amusedly, tucking the note into his pocket. He'd put it with the others when he got back home later.

After taking his lunch and putting it into his bag that also contained things such as his phone, pens, planner, keys, and mini first aid kit, he let out a low whistle, signifying to the birds that it was time to go. All five of them cooed in response, Archimedes taking his usual spot on his father's shoulder as the others sat side by side on his bag after he'd taken out his key.

"Papa's got a lot of work today so you all better behave and stay upstairs until I tell you you can come down, alright?" Medic said to them as he toed on his shoes, the birds humming in agreement as he went out the door and locked it behind him.

He took one last look over his husband's rather immaculate farm, waving to him when he'd caught his eye as he exited the chicken coop. Dell smiled and waved back at him before disappearing into the barn, Ludwig carefully making his way down the steps and towards the direction of town.