Work Text:
They were on their way out of the country for their family holiday. The flight was delayed for a while, and then it wasn't a while. They've been waiting for over an hour when her mother finally stood up and told her, "Stay here Lauren, I'll check what's going on with the flight attendants"
She nodded politely, no reason to be making a scene in such a public place after all. She watched as her mother talked to the attending, a stern look on her face that seemed to turn more into anger as the conversation went by. All of a sudden she felt her father's hand on her shoulder, he offered her a warm smile, gesturing back to her mother.
"I'll go check what's going on there alright, stay put" she nodded again watching him walk towards her now frustrated mother. She didn't really pay that much attention to what they were saying; only looking around the airport, trying to see anything interesting happening around her.
The Gods may have an odd sense of humor because a boy decided to sit next to her. He looked about her age, maybe a year or two older. He placed a heavy looking bag on his other side and looked back at her.
"Hello" She ignored him, her mother's words being stern and clear.
"So are you on your way out of Ardahlis?" She still didn't give a response, hoping that he would stop trying to talk to her.
"Not talkative huh" She heard a small sigh and internally celebrated for a small victory. When you're stuck in the airport for hours on end, your perception of victory dwindles.
"Well, do you like books?" Before she could stop herself, a small Yes slipped out. Away goes the celebration and here comes the censure.
How could she have said that?! Before she could go further on her self loathing, he started to talk again.
"Well that makes this a lot easier" what a lot easier? As if answering her internal question, he pulled his bag to his lap and started taking out books one by one
"Do you like romance novels? History? Science fiction?" He asked, pulling book after book out then messily shoving them back into the bag "Or are you more into classics?"
It wasn't that she didn't appreciate company nor was she purposefully being rude, it was just that her mother can be very strict on who she talks to outside of any other familiar place due to their occupation nonetheless. Taking a deep breath, she put on a stern look and said "I don't think I should be talking to you"
"Oh right stranger danger. Well I can't really talk with you so I'm offering you a book since this would take a while." He didn't look insulted or bothered at all, instead it just looked as if someone had asked him to lower down the volume of their radio, no sign of animosity or malicious intent.
"Mom said that it's going to take ten minutes at best" she knew her mother lied, but who would she rather believe her mother or a stranger?
"Nah, look out the window. The plane isn't even out yet." he gestured towards the glass pane overlooking the view of the castle. Only if you look to the side hard enough, you would see the plane, still not ready to fly within a moment's notice.
He was right, she supposed she could take up his offer on the books. While she had read several classic literature before, it was for her class, not specifically as a hobby like William.
"Hmmm, do you have A Christmas Carol?" She just went back to the list of books William bought for his brother's birthday and said the first one that came to mind.
"One of the classic favorites," he muttered, focused on finding the book." Here you go" he handed it to her with a smile, receiving one of the same.
You could say a mistake was made at that moment. But hey, who doesn't make them?
It took over two hours for them to get the plane out and another two before they were given instructions to go to the opposite side of the airport for boarding. Then walk back to their original gate before they could fly. Only when she's laying down on the bed, surrounded by luggage, did she remember that the book was still in her hands but she never saw him again
. . . .
The next time she saw him again was two years later, around 3 in the morning at the airport.
Apparently they were going to their rest house in the rural parts of Ardahlis as a small vacation. She didn't even know that they had one until this morning when she was softly woken up by her father.
He explained that since they were both busy these past few months with cases and would be the same on the upcoming holiday season, they should go on a small trip while they still could.
Hastily, she prepared herself for their trip. Making sure to pack an extra pair of gloves and scarves because it can get cold sometimes. What probably took the longest was deciding if she wanted to bring a new book or one of her favorites, she decided on the latter.
They were on their way to the gate when she saw him again. She tried to call out to him but was hit by a soft realization that she didn't know his name.
She kept following her parents, watching him quietly board the plane, a hardcover book in hand.
. . . .
Nearly 8 years later, she's on her way out of the country when she sees him again. She looks back down at her ticket, they wouldn't board the flight for a while. Wasting no time, she approached him, ever so careful in letting the nervousness take over.
"Hello" he looked at her the same way she had when he approached her all those years ago, cynical and incredulous.
"Hello there" he greeted politely and she clung to the hope that it was a glint of recognition in his eyes.
"Hi um, we met over ten years ago on gate 13 and I never gave you your book back" she took a breath and continued.
"You mentioned that it was one of your favorites, so i wanted to return it eventually" she took the book out of her purse, showing the well preserved cover of an aged book
He smiled, taking the book from her hand after an eventual pause, "Well in that case accept this late return Ms?"
"Sinclair, Lauren Sinclair,'' she offered her and which he shook gratefully. Afterwards he opened the book, noticeably stopping at the pages with pencil notes she forgot to erase.
A man shoved both of them to the side not long after, and they had no choice but to move. They walked to the side, careful not to get in anyone's way.
"This is an unfortunate place to make friends is it not, Miss Sinclair?" He chuckled, closing the newly returned book.
"It is, it took me over ten years to meet you again" it was her turn to laugh. She didn't want to tell him how she would think she randomly saw him in Ardahlis sometimes or how they nearly met over eight years prior.
"That is true. Well if you have some time, I would love to hear your thoughts on your overdue book." They were standing in front of one of the few cafes in the airport, and the only good one. It wasn't too crowded at this time of day but she guessed that it regularly experiences many rush hours and was preparing for the next one.
She looked down at her watch knowing full well that she could spare some time, "I have over two hours for a book review"
. . . .
"You are a weird one" she said, mindlessly stirring the spoon in her coffee. They were seated next to the window, couple of seats from the entrance and
"Care to explain?" He wasn't insulted nor annoyed, just curious about the statement.
"For starters you have an entire luggage just full of books. Not including the ones you have on you" she used her spoon to point at his bag. One look and you could tell that it was indeed filled with books.
"Well it abides the weight limit doesn't it?" He tried to shrug off her statement but it didn't work. "And what's wrong with keeping books at an arm's reach anyways?"
"That was my second point. Why do you have so many books?," Sure she's judging him but she's really just generally curious on why he has them.
"It is easier to read than to draw on planes I'm afraid" he shrugged. It was technically the truth, half truth. Plus he liked to keep people guessing
"Oh so you're an artist?" She wouldn't be surprised if he was. He fit the artistic type by description. Not so much when he doesn't have his glasses, but he fits it.
"Not quite madam" he winked at her, savoring the annoyance and the eye roll "I do it for fun, however my real job will remain a mystery"
"By the paper cuts on your fingers, I would say that you work closely with papers. And the way you hold books indicates that you either work with a lot of them everyday along with both sharp and dusty papers. I'm guessing several new and old books on the regular too." He had a surprised but impressed look on his face.
"I'm a detective" he looked enlightened, as if she had just told him the secrets of the universe.
"Well then, I did not expect that" he chuckled slightly, a hint of humor in his voice "I should have brought Sherlock Holmes with me"
"Because you already figured most of it out, I'm a librarian at Ardahlis Central Library." He was smiling but she could tell that he was enjoying the time in an otherwise stressful environment "Does it explain the luggage full of books now detective?"
"Yes it does" they shared a laugh although it was interrupted by the deafening ring of a speaker attempting to function.
Announcement now boarding Flight 274
"That's my flight, I have to go now Mr.White" she gathered up her things, ready to leave for her flight.
"Kieran" he insisted. He was sure that they would meet again soon, so why waste time on formalities?
"Right Kieran," she didn't try to argue, only offering him a smile before she leaves. It would be quite a run if she stayed any further, and he appeared to have understood that.
"Take care!"
. . . .
The Ardahlis Central Library was located right in between the castle, and the central park. It doesn't take long for anyone to spot it. It was a large marble building with tall quartz pillars adorning the entrance, and large mahogany doors.
As impressive as the actual entrance may be, what will always be paid the most attention is the stained glass dome sitting above the main hall. The inside was built with high walls and ceilings to accompany the shelves containing thousands of books preserved inside with restorations and preservations being done every three years.
And standing right beside one of the many high shelves was Kieran. Cautiously, she approached him, careful not to disturb the rows of studying university students and run into one of the many scattered tables. Even from eight feet away, he started waving at her enthusiastically.
"Hello Miss Lauren here too see me? How thoughtful of you" he placed his hand over his chest as he wiped a fake tear from his eye.
Without missing a beat, she replied, "Actually I'm here to see Lila."
She can't say that the slight pout didn't make her laugh a bit inside.
"We're going to grab lunch, do you want to come?" She had slightly hoped that he would take up the offer but he shifted away slightly.
"I'm flattered but I'm afraid I still have a full cart to put back" he declined, gesturing at the cart beside him.
"Oh well" she couldn't contain her disappointment entirely but it slipped past him as he examined the somewhat crowded main hall.
After a few seconds of scanning the crowd, she spotted Lila near another bookshelves with a similar looking trolley, only less full. She waved at her high school friend. They met again after seven years and decided to catch up on their further favorite cafe. William was supposed to come and they would all meet here but she doesn't know where he is.
"More people than normal?" It was a slightly rhetorical question, there was never an average number for the daily visitors that visit the library. It's always either packed to the brim, or three to eight people; no in between.
"A bit but there's nothing exciting going on today I'm afraid" he adjusted his glasses, still looking around he picked up a book, boredom noticeable on his posture, "Quite boring really. Only a few standouts every few months"
Just as he said that, a shout was heard from the main counter.
"Why did you take so long to read it?!" A blond guy yelled at another visitor.
"It's seven hundred pages long. Give me a break!" Replied the girl with short blue hair.
It didn't take long for her to realize that it was William and Kym respectively; what they were shouting about, she was about to find out.
"For over two years?!!!" Will screamed back, obviously trying to calm himself down, obviously failing.
"Well I'm sorry normal people don't fit in your standard reading speed of an encyclopedia per night. This isn't third grade anymore!" Kym screamed back, looking as if she was half in for arguing with him, half for defending ideology she decided to stick by for the day.
-
"You just said nothing happens" it was always amusing watching the two of them argue, annoying Will was only ever a bonus for Kym.
"Must be one of the few times per month" Kieran wasn't trying to defend himself much. It was widely known that it was a peaceful place; besides whatever happens in the library, stays in the library.
He noted what an incredible turn of events this was. It felt like the world was conspiring against him and wanted to prove him wrong on every decision that he made.
"I wonder what happened there though" she couldn't help but wonder out loud. Turning back to Kieran, "You're not going to check it out?"
"Oh heavens no. I'm on break and that's out of the coverage area"
"You just said that you can't go out for lunch because you need to put back the books in your cart"
"That wasn't a complete lie. I do need to put these back but at the same time I don't want to" he placed the emphasis on want, pointing out that it was only laziness for doing his job, not for rejecting her proposal for lunch.
. . . .
"You look nervous for someone whose going to return a book" A familiar voice emerged from behind him. It wasn't long until the mystery voice was peering over his shoulder.
Turning to kym, he responded in his usual tone "No actually, I'm here to inquire if it's available yet"
Kym only smiled, obviously internally celebrating the annoyance showing in his face and voice. Taking on a more serious tone, he asked, "Now what are you doing here?"
"Oh I'm just here to ask how much someone would have to pay for," she coughed a little, "27 months in total"
"You kept a book for over two years?" He spoke with more question and denial than usual.
"Well I didn't read it per se. More of forgot I ever had it and got lost somewhere in my house" she shrugged. It wasn't uncommon for people to lose books for years only to return it with minimal regret and judgment form either parties, "besides it's not like it's a very demanded book anyway"
"You should return it soon" he couldn't help but sigh. It was a good day, and there was no reason to get mad for something that doesn't affect him anyway.
"Calm down that's what I'm here for"
"What book did you take anyway?" He sighed once more, even in the quietest of places, she's still there to torment him. It wasn't as if he didn't enjoy company while waiting in a long line, it was just that he thought that since she was attracted to chaos in general, the library would be sort of a safe haven for him.
"Oh just something like Infinite Zest or something" she looked as if she didn't care, and while she probably didn't, that name was all too familiar.
"Infinite Jest?" The words Stay calm repeated itself in his mind. Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay fucking calm.
"Yeah that one" she nonchalantly answered, not really thinking much of it.
"You're the one who's had the only copy of Infinite Jest in the city and you kept it for two years?" There was a slight shake in his voice that she hadn't heard before. Even in the worst of cases, he's always been calm and level headed. His voice shaking in a very calm and controlled environment definitely raised concern. There was a foreign emotion in his voice that she can't seem to decipher.
"Yeah, pretty crazy right?" She tried to laugh it off. It was always easier to read people when they're reacting to emotions out of place. That was why she liked to argue with William, he controlled his emotions well and only in the face of unrelenting stances on garlic bread could manage to make him lose the formalness he always carries with him.
Examining his face showed a lot of doubt, disbelief, and slight anger. There was the possibility that they were in a dangerous place but she's going to get on the more obvious possible reason she can think of.
"That's the one you're going to take out?" she opted for staying in place rather than taking a step back or forward.
He didn't respond and decided to stare at her, unblinkingly. The emotion was still there, and only appears to have increased.
Something tells her that she's going to be reading a lot more of his emotions in a few moments.
. . . .
They continued screaming at each other for what felt like a good few minutes but it was honestly just 45 seconds. Lila finally intervened, the actions were probably better off unexplained and unspoken of ever again.