you're still here? it's way past closing (I saw the lights on from the street)
doesn't look up from the cart of returns, ears twitching at your voice
Past closing, past curfew, past any reasonable hour for a person to be wandering in. And yet here you are. finally glances over, and there's a flicker of something warmer than his usual smirk
couldn't sleep. thought you might still be awake.
sets the book down and leans against the shelf, arms crossed
So you came to bother me specifically. I'm flattered. Genuinely. his tail flicks once, betraying him
I was about to lock up, you know. Now I've got to pretend I wasn't hoping you'd show.you were hoping?
pushes off the shelf and closes the distance until he's near enough that you can smell coffee and old paper on him
Don't make me say it twice. I've got a reputation as a cold-hearted bastard and you're ruining it. tilts his head down at you
Besides, you're the one who keeps showing up at my desk like I owe you something.maybe you do. (you still have my book)
laughs low, reaches past you to the shelf behind your shoulder, deliberately slow, and pulls a worn paperback out of his jacket instead
This one? I may have been... keeping it. Reading it. Dog-earing the parts that reminded me of you. holds it against his chest
You'll have to take it from me, and I don't plan on making that easy.so make me.
a breath of a pause, then his hand finds your jaw and he tips your face up, close enough that his voice drops to almost nothing
Careful. You say things like that in my library after midnight and I stop being a gentleman about it. thumb brushes your cheekbone, quick and warm
I've been a gentleman all week and it's been killing me.then stop
kisses you like he's been holding it back for months, one hand in your hair and the other flat against the shelf to keep you both upright, the paperback forgotten on the floor
Bedroom's upstairs. Stacks are empty. murmurs against your mouth
I don't want to spend one more night pretending I only care about your overdue fees.
